Wednesday, December 31, 2014

I don't keep notes on the polishes I feature here and even if I did I'd be hard pressed to come up with my personal favorites. There are just too many! I don't know how folks who make "best of" lists do it, it must be a tremendous job. My hat is off to them!What I HAVE done, though, is go through the year's posts and pull out the ones with a particularly high visitor count. A lot of my visitors come through search engines, which makes me happy because that confirms what I've always intended this blog to be: a repository and a resource for polish enthusiasts who are researching a polish for purchase or for their own review. It's a privilege to have folks spend time here, whether they come once or many times, and I am grateful for every visitor to my blog. That goes double for YOU!Here are 29 of my most visited posts in 2014, in chronological order.

I deliberately spread the love around some when choosing these posts, because I did have to winnow the list a little bit. Go Essie, Zoya, Pahlish and Picture Polish! Sadly, Candeo Colors isn't with us anymore, but that didn't stop people from admiring their polishes.

Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Holly was released by Zoya as part of the Gems and Jewels collection for holiday 2011. Sadly it didn't make it to Zoya's core line but you can still find it quite easily on Amazon or ebay. I've had this polish for a while with every intension to feature it before Christmas -- and we all know where that paved path leads to. But if I do wind up in hell, I don't think it'll be for swatching this beautiful Christmas green a few days after Christmas so here we go. Holly is a medium-toned emerald green with tone-on-tone finely-milled particulate shimmers that produce a glowing, semi-metallic finish. The color is bold and lush to the point of decadence, and has that wonderful lit-from-within quality that makes a polish come alive on the nail. I'd heard great things about this lacquer but was kind of meh about it in the bottle once I'd got it. Now that I'm actually wearing it, however, I can say that it deserves all the praise it receives. It's a vivacious, outgoing, happy polish that is sure to be noticed and likes it that way. Application was great! The consistency of Holly is a bit more fluid than I'm used to from Zoya, but very smooth and with enough body to it not to be runny. It's very maneuverable and has an easy flow over the nail. Self-leveling properties with a thin polish aren't typically stellar and that's the case with this one, especially since it has the kind of semi-metallic finish that is bound to highlight nail bed flaws. Pigmentation is very good with completely even opacity in two coats. My nail ridges are detectable under this coverage, but the brilliant emerald color makes them less noticeable in person. In fact, I didn't even see them until I began editing the photos. Next time I'll try doubling up on the basecoat. Another tiny pique I have with Holly is that it can be a little brushstrokey, but again the color makes this less of an issue than it would be with a less vibrant shade. Cleanup is easy and straightforward. Holly dries naturally in good time to a smooth shiny finish.Photos show two coats of Holly over treatment and basecoat with a slightly bubbly topcoat of Seche Vite.

Zoya Holly

Zoya Holly

Zoya Holly

Zoya Holly

Zoya Holly

Zoya Holly

Zoya Holly

Zoya Holly

Zoya Holly

Zoya Holly

Zoya Holly

Zoya Holly

Sometimes really fine shimmer can result in a frosty look, but Zoya avoids that here by using a particulate size that is fine enough to blend with and transform the color but not so fine that you can't see that it's there to do just that. I normally go for chunkier shimmers than this for that very reason, but I'm really happy with how Holly looks on my nails. It's really quite dressy and the color is so joyful that it avoids any pretense of reserve. Spirited and buoyant, this would make a great St. Patrick's Day manicure. Time enough between now and then for you to be ready to see a brilliant green on your nails again, eh?love,Liz

Monday, December 29, 2014

It's taken me a while to acquire this polish, which I've coveted ever since I first saw it swatched by Sheila of Pointless Cafe back when it was first released in March of 2013, here. With a new Community Collection just out and plenty of other polishes on my wish list, indie polish maker Literary Lacquers was way overdue for a haul from me. So I had myself a little LL spree earlier this month, and Laters Baby was one of the first polishes in my cart.Laters Baby was released by Literary Lacquers as part of The Good Parts collection, a line of polishes inspired by erotic fiction "from Fanny Hill to 50 Shades." This one was inspired by 50 Shades of Grey, which I have not read (it's true: I do in fact live under a rock). It's a deep taupe linear holographic polish, slightly silvered by the holo pigment, with a sprinkling of tiny holographic hex glitters. The color is an organic mix of charcoal and raw umber that reminds me of tree bark, and blazes with a beautiful flame-shaped linear prismatic display in direct sun. Beyond the holographic flare, the base color slips into a stormy shade of deep brownish grey, punctuated by sparks in a rainbow of colors from the tiny hex glitters. This polish has a discrete sleek complexity to it -- the color is mysterious and deliciously indistinct and contrasts with the tantalizing sparkle of the holo glitters, which add a bit of elegant showmanship to the mix.Application was lovely. The consistency of Laters Baby has some body to it but is paintably fluid and smooth with a sweet, self-leveling glide over the nail. It's a fast drying polish, and I found it best to work quickly -- not my forte generally, but the formula is user friendly enough that I had no problems with it. Pigmentation is a curiosity. There's a degree of translucence to this formula that makes it difficult to judge opacity. I had two coats on but wasn't quite satisfied, so I added a third and was happy with that. Cleanup is easy and straightforward. Laters Baby dries naturally in very good time to a silky finish with just a hint of texture from the tiny hexes. It takes topcoat beautifully, which doesn't diminish the holographic effects at all.Photos show three coats of Laters Baby over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Literary Lacquers Laters Baby

Literary Lacquers Laters Baby

Literary Lacquers Laters Baby

Literary Lacquers Laters Baby

Literary Lacquers Laters Baby

Literary Lacquers Laters Baby

Literary Lacquers Laters Baby

Literary Lacquers Laters Baby

Literary Lacquers Laters Baby

Literary Lacquers Laters Baby

Literary Lacquers Laters Baby

Literary Lacquers Laters Baby

Literary Lacquers Laters Baby

As you can see, in almost any light Laters Baby is suffused with a silvery, softened version of its direct sun prismatic flair, which is predominated by azure blue with green, yellow and red appearing at the edges. The blue is a wonderful complement to the charcoaly brown of the base. For all its ambiguities, this is such a lovely polish! The more I wear it, the more I appreciate it, and right now I really don't want to take it off! I feel like I could live in this polish til spring and not want for anything....love,Liz